Love or Power?

It’s been a while since I found myself bewildered in an argument with my morality.

Recently a good friend of mine confided in me about how his feelings for a girl was shut down, with the rejection he felt as if he lost a power within himself. We ended up materializing this predicament of his in a scenario.

If the devil offered you the chance to gain a super power at the cost of the soul of your true love, would you?

This scenario, in my head plays out the ultimate question; are all things fair in love and war? If so, what happens if the devil came to play?

The conversation continues in a comic book timeline, giving the main character the super power to control all of nature’s elements. But of course, if he chose having power above love, what good is power without love?

Who’s the true villain when the main character intentionally gives another’s soul for his wellbeing? Is it still the devil that offers him the deal or is it the individual that broke his heart and stripped him from the power within him?

I ask myself, if I was given the choice to gain a super power over the expense of someone that truly hurt me, would I take the deal with the devil himself?

Honestly, until today I don’t know my own answer.

So as usual, I bring my questions to various individuals. Fatima, a dear friend in Bahrain replied my question with her interpretation on the scenario:

It depends on what the power means to me versus what the person means to me. if presented with an opportunity to be myself… or who I used to be; sacrificing someone who didn’t accept me for who I am, even if I cared for them and they cared for me, they did destroy a part of me that I held dear.

I’d rather get reconciliation than live a life of bitterness.

With the devil’s hand, there’s always a catch. In this scenario, my mind added the plot twist of the devil using that soul the character gives up and sends it back in different forms to test the human will against love. Fatima accepted the plot twist, and responded:

“I believe in that case; I wouldn’t resist love if I find it again… even if I lose my powers. Because if at that point love mattered to me more than keeping them, I wouldn’t fight it. Besides, the sacrifice would be my choice. Assuming the devil sends love my way in an attractive package, it’ll be hard to resist. I feel like I wouldn’t be bitter if I chose to compromise for love; lest love rejects and doesn’t appreciate the compromise I make, then I’ll raise hell myself. Powers or not…”

Naturally, I had to ask… what super powers would she give up love for? or vice versa.

“Ideally… to accept love I would give up any super power. But for a judgmental prick, I wouldn’t even give up the mere power of knowing which side of the coin would be up.”

I would have stopped with her response but I was still unsettled by the initial choice the friend who’d answer that power would be better than love. I mean sure, the ability to create gold out of water would have been both useful and cool.

But is ultimate power truly worth giving up another’s soul?

From the people I’ve asked, more females answered that they would rather choose power, in my opinion this is due to females getting hurt more often than guys do. More guys in their twenties would give up super powers because they think that the chance of being happy with somebody special overweighs super powers like flying or mind reading. Additionally, the guys I asked would rather not gain such powers by sacrificing others. Perhaps, chivalry is not completely dead.

It’s not surprising seeing more females choose not to settle down early, personally, it’s a choice I make because of the many time I’ve been hurt before. The only guarantee a woman can get is the promise she makes to herself and the efforts she knows that will be appreciated. Many guys, not all – but many guys tend to feel emancipated by a more successful woman.

But what is power without someone to share it with?

If said scenario was real, I think after the conversations I’ve had, I would choose power. But only for the ability to bend reality. Admit it, it would be fun to be able to manipulate atoms in your body to fit that cute dress on display at Forever 21. Others may choose the power to heal others, or even the ability to guess a gamble during a coin toss; but on a realistic note, women just want the power of equality – and that’s good enough for me.

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